Category Archives: design

Since art and design go hand and hand and rather than post a copy of a rather lengthy article on midcenturymoderngroovy.com titled “Victorian to Modern“, I have decided to include a link here if you are so interested. This article is about the conversion of a room from Victorian to modern to contrast the difference and … Continue reading →

I have just published on Amazon a new book. It is about constructing outdoor furniture with distinctive designs, without making complicated cuts, not using complex equipment and no purchasing of expensive materials. All the furniture is made with only 90-degree cuts, utilizing only 1x4s and 2x4s. The book includes 200 illustrations of furniture construction and … Continue reading →

I’m getting closer to finishing converting my furniture designs that I have made and use in my house from drawings to digital, 3D models. Even though I have beds, bedside tables, chests of drawers, desks and side tables, many of these fit the definition of minimalist, and therefore, hardly need the transition. For instance, a … Continue reading →

In “Digital Design Documentation” I promised a De Stijl type cabinet. This cabinet exudes modernity with a bright, bold design, in a rectilinear form worthy of the mid-century modernists. I have this cabinet in the dining room and would not be without it. The proportions of height to width and the very pleasing feet, have … Continue reading →

These two designs have no influence from the east, nor do they eschew sophisticated joinery or finishes. The materials are found at the hardware store. Much like the International Style designers of the mid-century, the mechanisms of joinery remain exposed for all to see and form part of the aesthetic. When designing modern furniture, I … Continue reading →

Having drawn out many modern furniture designs by using the old tools of the architect, the t-square, triangles and ruler, some of the designs I have come up with need placing among the cloud. I no longer use the old tools except to sketch some quick ideas, but now rely on design software, which although … Continue reading →

I am usually spending my evenings doing something productive, but occasionally I do enjoy a good documentary or a video on art or design. Last night I watched “Ellen’s Design Challenge” on HGTV. Although I have a degree in fine art, design is a large part of any artistic endeavor and is quite fulfilling in … Continue reading →

FiveThirtyEightOne Art Lover's Crusade To Catalog The WorldFiveThirtyEightIf you're a famous dead artist, nothing welcomes you to the canon quite like someone sitting down and meticulously recording every piece of art you ever made. These records become a compendium, often several volumes long, called a catalogue raisonné.

The Daily AdvertiserDowntown Opelousas art gathering momentumThe Daily AdvertiserCindy Pitre is a witness to the positive effects of art. For the past two years, Pitre helped lead public art projects to brighten downtown Opelousas. One downtown block, with former retailers like Abdalla's and J. W. Low, and buildings that date back ...

CNN'Art of the Deal' ghostwriter predicts Trump will resignCNNWashington (CNN) The ghostwriter of "The Art of the Deal" thinks President Donald Trump will eventually call it quits. Tony Schwartz, the man behind Trump's 1987 memoir, took to Twitter on Wednesday to vocalize his forecast for Trump's political future.'Art of th […]

New York TimesArt and Museums in NYC This WeekNew York Times“Mobius,” an acrylic sculpture by Marta Chilindron, is featured in the “Uptown” exhibition at the Wallach Art Gallery. The showcase, the first in the Wallach's new home, will close on Sunday; see listing below. Credit Byron Smith for The New York Times.

The Mercury NewsTackling homelessness, wellness through artThe Mercury News“Missing Peace,” a mural by Redwood City artist Dodge Williams, was created on the facade of Emerald City Liquors at 3025 Jefferson Ave. as part of the city's Community Advocacy Through Art project, which aims to pair the city with area nonprofits on ...

New York TimesThe Other Side of the Wall: A New Generation of Latino ArtNew York TimesBut this is slowly changing — MoMA's holdings of Latin American art increased substantially after a donation last fall of works from the collection of philanthropist Patricia Phelps de Cisneros, who has collected art from the region for 40 years. Then ...and more »

Mother JonesBut Is It Art?Mother JonesKnown as the “Silent Sentinel,” “Single Soldier” or similar names, the figure tops many of the thousands of Civil War monuments to be found in more than 30 states….Estimates of Confederate monuments range between 500 and 1,000, including hundreds of ...

Helena Independent RecordMake art with your brainwaves at new Holter exhibitHelena Independent RecordThe Holter Museum of Art exhibition of "CAVE: An Artscience Installation" by the NeuroCave Collaborative from Bozeman, is set to open Aug. 18 from 5-8 p.m.. Thom Bridge, thom.bridge@helenair.com. The Holter Museum of Art exhibition of "CAVE: An […]

Minneapolis Star TribuneNew online tours offer guide to public art in MinneapolisMinneapolis Star TribuneJERRY HOLT • jerry.holt@startribune.com Evan Gruenes biked across the Stone Arch Bridge during an art tour. City of Minneapolis and Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board launch six interactive map tours that make it easy to explore public art in .. […]

Jens Risom passed away last year at the age of 100. During his lifetime he was a major influence in spreading Scandinavian modern design in America. Although if one has only a cursory knowledge of modern design, and even if one has no idea about the designer of a certain chair, one immediately recognizes it […]

The emergence of women designers and architects certainly came full force in the 20th century. We all know of Ray Eames, but right up there among the elite is Charlotte Perriand (1903-1999). (For a brief read on 9 prominent women designers, click the image link below.) Even with just a casual knowledge of mid-century […]

Architecture William Krisel Modernity For Everyone ___ By Howard Bosler The most interesting thing about William Krisel, besides his love for the butterfly roof, is his down to earth approach toward modern architecture. Since he has just recently passed away, I thought a look at Mr. Krisel is in order. About Mr. Krisel William Krisel […]

Please, indulge my pleasure for interior design. Here, I have taken a very Victorian room and turned it into a mid-century modern space. With interior design, the principles generally stay the same regardless of the period in history. In fact, the dictums of the use of symmetry, asymmetry, color, spatial arrangements, and any other principle […]

Through all the “ism” in art and architecture, modernist design in architecture refers to the mid-century of the 20th century. So many buildings and residences set the stage for contemporary modern designs of today. Many of the iconic places so familiar to us have exerted incredible influences on current design to such a degree, that […]

After reading an article on www.spiked-online.com, the question of using the term judgmentalism when exploring art criticism piqued my interest. The article on this website, “Modern Art is Not Rubbish,” engaged in the typical tortured intellectual gymnastics that has been around since the Cubists, which I will examine a little later. Nevertheless, I have hea […]

Why is cabinetry in the home expected to be built-in? When attending architecture school, I designed a rather inventive duplex where most everything was movable. This included the walls, the cabinets, the closets, and even a second story bedroom. Due to regularly placed pluggable drainage and snap on, snap off plumbing, sinks, bathtubs, and toilets […]

I thought I might write an article on the methods and procedures for building houses from shipping containers. I live in a city where a large project of condominiums utilizing shipper containers was quite successful and inspiring. Nevertheless, I can not compete with some of the information available on the Internet and so have decided […]

This is the first in a series of recipes for small spaces. These recipes will feature the use of few kitchen tools, pots, and pans. Especially considered will be the occupation of space by ingredients. Also, aesthetics will factor in the recipes. If you have a recipe that fits with the scheme of cooking in […]

Through all the “ism” in art and architecture, modernist design in architecture refers to the mid-century of the 20th century. So many buildings and residences set the stage for contemporary modern designs of today. Many of the iconic places so familiar to us have exerted incredible influences on current design to such a degree, that […]

Although you might not find use for the information below, you might at least be interested in the creative ways people come up with to construct houses. In a previous post, I examined so-called 3D printing techniques. In the below videos we will see all sorts of sundry methods. Since a video might be better […]

I have read interesting articles and reports, watched videos of “printed” structures, mostly as experiments as part of research at universities. The material used in producing these is usually a specialized concrete mixture that flows easily, yet has body and gains reasonable strength when cured. I originally saw the video below on curbed.com at this […] […]

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Reading List

This is a little area to list what I am currently reading. I may even post a book report or review. If you would like to participate or comment on this reading material, email me at howard@midcenturymoderngroovy.com.